Anyone else getting bored with Sling?

[Ronnie-]

One TiVo isn't enough for most households; e

That is what the hold up was for me. I could personally make do, but for the wife and kids usage with the least amount of headache we would likely need 2.

So with the two Tivo fees it wasnt much difference than the welcome pack and a hopper with a joey. Plus the cost of the units themselves, and any antenna equipment (which I admittedly bought some of anyway.)

I imagine to have it done where I could reliably get ALL of my HD locals with no monthly fee I would have $1000 or better in it.
Antenna to meet my needs would run about $150-200
Antenna pole up to 30' would be around $125
Two tivos with lifetime would run around $100 each with lifetime at $400 each (?)
Boosters, wires, ect...

That alone is $1275 taking the low end on the antenna and getting two Roamios at $100. Although I could knock $100 off getting the Roamio OTA models.

So thats not a a really over the top fancy set up that will easily approach the $1000 mark. Of course by paying the tivo fee by the month it would not cost near as much, but again, my monthly cost would be back to where I was to start with.

 

[Scherrman]

My experience with antenna owners is that they are not the type to worry too much about having a DVR. My customer base cared more about keeping costs as low as possible, not having features. Heck, a lot of them knew very little about DVRs.

 

[STL]

That is what the hold up was for me. I could personally make do, but for the wife and kids usage with the least amount of headache we would likely need 2.

So with the two Tivo fees it wasnt much difference than the welcome pack and a hopper with a joey. Plus the cost of the units themselves, and any antenna equipment (which I admittedly bought some of anyway.)

I imagine to have it done where I could reliably get ALL of my HD locals with no monthly fee I would have $1000 or better in it.
Antenna to meet my needs would run about $150-200
Antenna pole up to 30' would be around $125
Two tivos with lifetime would run around $100 each with lifetime at $400 each (?)
Boosters, wires, ect...

That alone is $1275 taking the low end on the antenna and getting two Roamios at $100. Although I could knock $100 off getting the Roamio OTA models.

So thats not a a really over the top fancy set up that will easily approach the $1000 mark. Of course by paying the tivo fee by the month it would not cost near as much, but again, my monthly cost would be back to where I was to start with.

What kind of antenna are you need that it costs $150-200? A quad bay would work for most people and they can be had for as little as $30 -- heck even a double quad bay is only $50.

As for a DVR, you can get Channel Master DVR+ Bundle for $300 on Amazon (and no monthly fees to pay for the program guide). And if you need access to on multiple TVs then just get a Windows 7 PC instead and a Silicon Dust HD Homerun tuner unit; you can use MCE (which is built into Win7) to DVR and stream any recorded content to direcly to smart TVs via DLNA -- or worst case you buy a Roku for each TV. All that should still cost notably less $1000 -- and again it's a one-time cost (and you actually own the equipment). Having a Hopper + Joey setup is likely to cost you about $1000 EVERY year.

 

[Ronnie-]

What kind of antenna are you need that it costs $150-200? A quad bay would work for most people and they can be had for as little as $30 -- heck even a double quad bay is only $50.

I have tried most everything from $30-$100 at one time or the other. Be it my place or my parents. I can get most with lesser equipment, but not all. I had an ongoing thread on this in the pub as I mulled over this option about a month ago.

As for a DVR, you can get Channel Master DVR+ Bundle for $300 on Amazon (and no monthly fees to pay for the program guide). And if you need access to on multiple TVs then just get a Windows 7 PC instead and a Silicon Dust HD Homerun tuner unit; you can use MCE (which is built into Win7) to DVR and stream any recorded content to direcly to smart TVs via DLNA -- or worst case you buy a Roku for each TV. All that should still cost notably less $1000 -- and again it's a one-time cost (and you actually own the equipment). Having a Hopper + Joey setup is likely to cost you about $1000 EVERY year.

If I went the channel master route I would still need two if I disregard the PC option. Which I am for ease of use, or at least familiarity when it comes to other members of the family.

So $300 each on that puts me at $600 before I even turn a wrench on a pole or antenna or cables.

Sure all of this is (hopefully) a one time cost if done with a tivo lifetime subscription or the channel masters and long term cheaper. I was simply showing that to get an OTA option to meet my personal needs, then $1000 is not all that far fetched, and would likely lowball was it actually would cost me.

 

[harshness]

My experience with antenna owners is that they are not the type to worry too much about having a DVR.

This is a whole new breed of antenna users. They're coming from pay TV services and more than a few have developed a taste for DVRs. With fewer channels and an often much shorter schedule of non-infomercial content, a DVR is probably more important.

 

[STL]

I have tried most everything from $30-$100 at one time or the other. Be it my place or my parents. I can get most with lesser equipment, but not all. I had an ongoing thread on this in the pub as I mulled over this option about a month ago.

So what antenna did you have to buy? Surely you have a link or a name? You have sparked my curiosity! I'm guessing you must be a considerable distance from the towers you are trying to pickup.

I am in St. Louis suburbs myself -- so about 25 miles from my local towers. I spent less than $20 (albeit 10 years ago) on a Channel Master CM4221 4-bay bowtie antenna then mounted it my attic (with some scrap 2x4s and part of an old broomstick) and I get great reception. I am using a using a four year old PC I already had to run Windows Media Center (along with a HD Homerun dual OTA tuner) then using my smarts TVs as well as Rokus so we can access the OTA recordings -- as well as Sling TV, Netflix, and Hulu.

 

[Ronnie-]

I have a channel master cm4228 (which is an excellent antenna) that I used at my previous home that will not lock in where I am. It will get most, but I am having issues with getting FOX and CW reliably. A higher pole would probably fix this as I am at 18 feet now. I could go to 30, but I do not have the equipment to do so.

I have tried several others. The clearstream 2v and the 4, and a couple of others that I can not recall. Mixed results. Some of those give me some stations and not others. None, or a no combination of any give me all with my current setup.

My closest stations (which I get easily) are around the 40 mile mark. The others are scattered between 45-90 miles.

 

[T134]

My experience with antenna owners is that they are not the type to worry too much about having a DVR. My customer base cared more about keeping costs as low as possible, not having features. Heck, a lot of them knew very little about DVRs.

You took the words right out of my mouth. If you are dropping pay to be cheap you tend to not overdo the plumbing and keep it simple. Besides, DVR for cableTV or OTA is highly overrated and often not even needed. I could easily setup housewide DVR ability for Cable, OTA and IPTV since those are all running on IP delivery. I don't bother and don't use any PVR/DVR. Last night I missed "The Blacklist" on NBC OTA and "Impractical Jokers" on TruTV cable. They are already available to stream on demand from NBC, TruTV and other sources today. Had I recorded these they would be wasting space on my HDD to do the same thing I can do on demand from the providers. Since I won't setup PVR with my existing equipment for free there is no way in hell I'd waste money on TiVo or Xfinity DVR or whatever.

I guess it is a matter of how cheap a guy wants to be. You can do it dirt cheap to free or you can throw so much money into equipment and setup that you might as well have kept a pay provider. I aim for the free/cheap side personally.

 

[dare2be]

They are already available to stream on demand

Just be wary of "on-demand"...which really means "on-availability". I'd rather have a program on demand from my DVR where I control its availability and not some external entity.

 

[STL]

My closest stations (which I get easily) are around the 40 mile mark. The others are scattered between 45-90 miles.

If you cannot get them with that 8-bay (assuming you are using a pre-amp mounted on the tower) then you'll either need a yagi or as you stated is might just be a height problem. I would venture to guess that the majority of the population in the US lives within 50-60 miles of their towers and should do fine with a 2, 4, or 8 bay antenna. IMO, those Clearsteams look like nothing more that over-priced 2 and 4 bay antennas. My 4-bay is probably overkill and a 2-bay might work just fine, but since I knew I was putting it in an attic I wanted the extra gain to overcome the loss from going through the roof. I also should note that I used RG-6 cable because it's larger center conductor has less loss than RG-59 cable.

 

[STL]

Just be wary of "on-demand"...which really means "on-availability". I'd rather have a program on demand from my DVR where I control its availability and not some external entity.

I agree, and that's why I have my PC doing DVR work on OTA programming. We sometimes watch things a year or more after they we originally aired.

 

[Ronnie-]

Actually, the channel master aside, I had more luck with the clearstreams than anything else I tried.

 

[T134]

Just be wary of "on-demand"...which really means "on-availability". I'd rather have a program on demand from my DVR where I control its availability and not some external entity.

I agree, and that's why I have my PC doing DVR work on OTA programming. We sometimes watch things a year or more after they we originally aired.

This is true. Most of what can be watched today may not be there 3 months from now for free. For me personally it isn't a problem as I'll watch a missed TV show within a week and I don't normally "hoard" content like some people I know with terabytes of old stuff filling multiple HDD's. Guess it comes back to cost again, cheap like me or spend the PVR money if that is what you really need/want.

 

[STL]

Actually, the channel master aside, I had more luck with the clearstreams than anything else I tried.

How long is your cable run from the antenna to your house (and how many splits once inside)? Do you have a preamp mounted with the antenna on the pole? Even RG-6 loses about 1 dB of the signal every 18 feet (at channel 52) could be the difference between a good signal and an unwatchable one.

I never said the clearsteam antennas were junk -- just they they appear overpriced. I would not expect the 4 (at $140) to work appreciably better than a 4-bay channel master (for $60).

 

[Ronnie-]

20 feet on the run I was testing. No split.

 

[STL]

Hard to tell if a preamp would help for sure, but you are giving back 1dB of the 12dB of UHF gain your 8-bay is providing -- so that's still a notable 8% loss. I assume all the channels you are trying to pull in are indeed UHF (because that 4228 only has 5dB of VHF gain). You can find a lot of good info here: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html

 

[Kraven]

Barely watched it after the first week. Watch the H&G channel on weekends.

 

[primestar31]

I do NOT recommend anybody just "guessing" what OTA antenna will work at their house, and buying blindly. Receiving OTA can be a bit of voodoo, BUT, you can really narrow things down 95% by going to http://tvfool.com/ and clicking on the link Check Your Address for Free TV . Use the "Coordinates" search, I explain below.

Go to Google maps, find your house, RIGHT-click on the spot you think you'll install the antenna at your house, and click on "What's Here?". It'll give you your EXACT map coordinates to enter on the Tvfool screen. MUCH more accurate that doing a city search, or address search.Typically do the check at a height of 30 feet. That's fairly average for a rooftop antenna. More height does not always mean better signal.

In these days of digital tv, do NOT just add a antenna amplifier for no reason! An amp can cause far more problems with digital tv compared to the old analog tv. In most cases, you will not need any sort of amp unless you are supplying more than two tv sets, and have a splitter and longer run of cable.

 

[STL]

In these days of digital tv, do NOT just add a antenna amplifier for no reason! An amp can cause far more problems with digital tv compared to the old analog tv. In most cases, you will not need any sort of amp unless you are supplying more than two tv sets, and have a splitter and longer run of cable.

Note I was talking about preamps and not amps -- they are different. What you stated is bascially true for an amp, but that does not apply to a quality preamp with a low noise figure. For more details aboutthe subject use the link I posted earlier and then click the Antenna Basics link (under which you find some enlightening sections labeled Signal Amplifiers, Preamplifiers and Receiver Noise as well as lots more).

 

[Ronnie-]

I do NOT recommend anybody just "guessing" what OTA antenna will work at their house, and buying blindly. Receiving OTA can be a bit of voodoo, BUT, you can really narrow things down 95% by going to http://tvfool.com/ and clicking on the link Check Your Address for Free TV . Use the "Coordinates" search, I explain below.

I basically went with what I had at my previous home first, then did the tvfool report.
Even with that info I had to do some antenna experimentation and still came up short without more extreme measures.

Good advice though.